TXU has been on a journey of transformation from a monopoly to a competitive business capable of meeting Texas’ high expectations for the new world of customer choice for electricity.
Three years ago, we began a process to become a leading industrial company. The progress we have made has improved our company and translated into financial success for investors and better service and more choices for customers. While we still have much to do, I’m incredibly proud of what our employees have achieved so far in TXU’s transformation.
Now we are approaching the next horizon on our journey. Early in 2006, we launched the final phase of our turnaround, our strategy to grow to meet the energy needs of Texas. Our plan included building nine gigawatts of new power while substantially improving our generation fleet’s environmental performance. Soon after we announced this plan, it became apparent from healthy public debate that many consumers, shareholders, and public stakeholders strongly objected. Once again, they raised their expectations for how competitive power companies will meet their energy needs.
The U.S. power sector is at a crossroads as our constituents challenge our industry to deliver low-cost power and, at the same time, improve environmental performance and achieve greater energy independence. The long-term answers will require long-term solutions, particularly through innovation and investment in promising but challenging technologies. To succeed in this environment of rapidly evolving demands from the public, we must continue to transform TXU.
I am convinced our proposed merger with an investor group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group, two of the nation’s leading private-equity firms, will provide significant value to shareholders and will position TXU to become more customer centered, innovative, and technology driven to better meet Texas' growing and diverse energy needs. This is perhaps TXU's most exciting transformation in a history that has touched three centuries and been so vital to the development of Texas.
Picture Details: Right to left, John Wilder, TXU chairman and CEO; Usha-Maria Turner, TXU environmental regulation manager; and Matthew J. Pistner, Alcoa Primary Metals location manager, at the construction site of TXU’s new 581-megawatt Sandow 5 power plant. This state-of-the-art facility, scheduled for operation in 2009, and the existing Sandow 4 unit will replace three older Alcoa generating units to provide reliable, cleaner power to Alcoa’s adjacent aluminum plant and to Texas consumers. The massive project is providing jobs and increasing economic vitality for nearby Rockdale and other Central Texas communities.
